Oliva-led Ridgewood ranked in wrestling top 10

By Brian Farrell

SPORTS EDITOR |

The Ridgewood News

RIDGEWOOD — With success comes recognition, and with talent comes achievement in sports. The Ridgewood High School wrestling team is feeling its oats in these respects this season, as the Maroons received the No. 8 preseason ranking in North Jersey by The Record— the highest rating ever for an RHS wrestling squad entering a campaign since the poll started early last decade.

The captains of the 2013-14 Ridgewood High School wrestling team are seniors Joe Oliva, left, and Michael Antosiewicz.

The Maroons finished last season with a 17-8 record, a No. 15 ranking in North Jersey and the school’s first district-team championship, claiming the District 6 Tournament crown.

This season, Ridgewood has 10 seniors, 11 juniors, 11 sophomores and 20 freshmen in the program for the largest turnout in the eight seasons that Torre Watson has been head coach.

And for this season, the Maroons have one of the top wrestlers in the state in senior co-captain Joe Oliva, who is two wins short of tying 2012 graduate Brandon Giovanetti’s school mark of 110 career victories. He is Ridgewood’s third 100-win career wrestler, following Giovanetti and 2002 graduate Mark Romeo (108).

Oliva will be shooting for his second straight championship in the Bergen County and District 6 tournaments and his third consecutive title in Region 2. He racked up a 41-3 record last season, capping it with a seventh-place finish at 126 pounds in the state tournament. He valiantly fought back through the wrestleback rounds after losing his opening bout, winning three consecutive matches at one point, to earn his medal. He set a school record for wins in a season, and is 108-16 for his career.

This season, Oliva, who will wrestle next year at the University of Pennsylvania, has bumped up to 138 pounds.

"This weight will be comfortable enough for him to be able to be competitive and not spread himself too thin," Watson said. "Joe is such a focused and hard-working kid who is training all the time. Who knows how the weight classes are going to shake down this season, but when you talk about the top wrestlers in the state, Joe has to be in the conversation."

"It is clear that Joe is the most accomplished wrestler on our team, and he has aspirations to be the second Ridgewood wrestler ever to win a state title," Watson said. "He has totally committed himself to our team and the sport and is poised for a phenomenal year. Watching him lead this team has made all of us very excited about his and our upcoming season. All of the seniors have really embraced their roles as leaders, and they all know that the more leaders we have on our team the better we are going to be."

"This season, we expect to maximize our experience and senior leadership to have a great season," Watson said. "We know we want to have the best season ever, and we need to embrace that and work towards it at the same time. We have as many seniors in our lineup as we have had in a good amount of years, and we are going to depend on them for immediate leadership. Kids like Joe Oliva, Stephen Gerdner [145 pounds], Aaron Martinez [160], Austin Purritano [170], Andrew Moras [195], Sukmin Yoon [220] and [co-captain] Michael Antsoiewicz [heavyweight] have been in our lineup for three or four years."

"There is no doubt in our or anyone’s mind that this is going to be the strength of our team," Watson noted. "This senior class has done a great job in preparation for this season, and they are a very close and supportive group. They are going to be what drives this team. Each one of these guys was a district-place winner, with Joe, Sukmin and Stephen winning championships."

"At the same time, we will be looking for contributions from wrestlers like [junior] Nick Saglimbeni [132] and [sophomore] Kyle Inlander [182], who both placed in the district tournament last year, to provides us with solid performances at their weight classes. These guys were both 20-plus match winners and played large roles for us last year, and we are going to need them to do at least the same if not more for us this season to attain the goals that we have set for our team. Both Nick and Kyle have also done a great job in preparation for the season, and we are excited about this season with them."

"We have two juniors in the lower weights in [juniors] Tyler Giovanetti [106] and Patrick Jacoby [113] that have been varsity performers for the last two seasons," said Watson. "Again, for us to be as successful as we are capable of being and attaining the goals that we have set for us as a team, we are going to really need a substantial increase in production from both Tyler and Patrick. Both guys made big jumps last year, and we are looking for and going to depend on them doing the same for us this year as well."

"Each successful year we go through, we come to the point in the season where we get a substantial contribution from someone who was not consistently in the lineup last season and emerges as a solid performer for us," Watson noted. "Wrestlers like [sophomore] Julian Bangash [126], [junior] Roger Toral [126], [junior] Robby Tarvin [152], [junior] Rob Rigoglioso [160], [junior] Aaron Del Vecchio [195] and [junior] Raymond Uzoaru [heavyweight] have all worked hard to improve their wrestling skills and may end up filling some of those roles for us this year. As a staff, we are excited about this group of kids and are anxious to see who pans out as major contributors of that group as well. Wrestlers like [sophomore] Owen McElroy [152], [sophomore] Matt Binstock [152] and [senior] Tyler Muslija [152] have an outside chance of contributing as well."

"This season, we are focused on being better than we were last year, and considering that last year was the best year in RHS wrestling history, that is a tough feat," Watson conceded. "Our consistent goal is to win each match and tournament that we are entered in. Last season, we won the Mt. Olive Tournament and District 6 Tournament. This season, our goal is to add the BCCA Group 4 championship and state-sectional championship to that list as well."

"Year after year, one of our team goals is to qualify for the team state tournament, which is a tough feat in itself given the structure of this tournament for the sport of wrestling. These seniors have done this two out of the last three years. Our section is not only tough, but the teams that were in contention for the title last year [North Bergen, Clifton, Morris Knolls and Hackensack, which was the sectional champion] are very similar to us in that they come back with strong experienced teams and are also somewhat senior-led."

"This poses quite a challenge for us," Watson said. "Yet, this senior class seems up for the challenge, and they want very badly not only to be great, but to be known as the best wrestling team in RHS history. It is exciting as a staff to have a group with this mixture of aspiration, experience and desire. I can tell you this, we are going to work very hard each day at attaining our team’s goals, and we are going to intensely prepare for each team to give us their very best each time they come out to face us. It is quite exciting and should be fun to watch."

Watson’s assistant coaches are Mike Rooney, now in his fifth season, Joe Gyulay (3rd season) and 2008 Ridgewood graduate Nikola Mirkovic, who wrestled for Watson and won the District 6 title at 215 pounds his senior year.

"Nikola is doing some medical studies in the area, and we are really excited to have him back in our program," Watson said.

Oliva-led Ridgewood ranked in wrestling top 10

The captains of the 2013-14 Ridgewood High School wrestling team are seniors Joe Oliva, left, and Michael Antosiewicz.

By Brian Farrell

SPORTS EDITOR |

The Ridgewood News

RIDGEWOOD — With success comes recognition, and with talent comes achievement in sports. The Ridgewood High School wrestling team is feeling its oats in these respects this season, as the Maroons received the No. 8 preseason ranking in North Jersey by The Record— the highest rating ever for an RHS wrestling squad entering a campaign since the poll started early last decade.

The Maroons finished last season with a 17-8 record, a No. 15 ranking in North Jersey and the school’s first district-team championship, claiming the District 6 Tournament crown.

This season, Ridgewood has 10 seniors, 11 juniors, 11 sophomores and 20 freshmen in the program for the largest turnout in the eight seasons that Torre Watson has been head coach.

And for this season, the Maroons have one of the top wrestlers in the state in senior co-captain Joe Oliva, who is two wins short of tying 2012 graduate Brandon Giovanetti’s school mark of 110 career victories. He is Ridgewood’s third 100-win career wrestler, following Giovanetti and 2002 graduate Mark Romeo (108).

Oliva will be shooting for his second straight championship in the Bergen County and District 6 tournaments and his third consecutive title in Region 2. He racked up a 41-3 record last season, capping it with a seventh-place finish at 126 pounds in the state tournament. He valiantly fought back through the wrestleback rounds after losing his opening bout, winning three consecutive matches at one point, to earn his medal. He set a school record for wins in a season, and is 108-16 for his career.

This season, Oliva, who will wrestle next year at the University of Pennsylvania, has bumped up to 138 pounds.

"This weight will be comfortable enough for him to be able to be competitive and not spread himself too thin," Watson said. "Joe is such a focused and hard-working kid who is training all the time. Who knows how the weight classes are going to shake down this season, but when you talk about the top wrestlers in the state, Joe has to be in the conversation."

"It is clear that Joe is the most accomplished wrestler on our team, and he has aspirations to be the second Ridgewood wrestler ever to win a state title," Watson said. "He has totally committed himself to our team and the sport and is poised for a phenomenal year. Watching him lead this team has made all of us very excited about his and our upcoming season. All of the seniors have really embraced their roles as leaders, and they all know that the more leaders we have on our team the better we are going to be."

"This season, we expect to maximize our experience and senior leadership to have a great season," Watson said. "We know we want to have the best season ever, and we need to embrace that and work towards it at the same time. We have as many seniors in our lineup as we have had in a good amount of years, and we are going to depend on them for immediate leadership. Kids like Joe Oliva, Stephen Gerdner [145 pounds], Aaron Martinez [160], Austin Purritano [170], Andrew Moras [195], Sukmin Yoon [220] and [co-captain] Michael Antsoiewicz [heavyweight] have been in our lineup for three or four years."

"There is no doubt in our or anyone’s mind that this is going to be the strength of our team," Watson noted. "This senior class has done a great job in preparation for this season, and they are a very close and supportive group. They are going to be what drives this team. Each one of these guys was a district-place winner, with Joe, Sukmin and Stephen winning championships."

"At the same time, we will be looking for contributions from wrestlers like [junior] Nick Saglimbeni [132] and [sophomore] Kyle Inlander [182], who both placed in the district tournament last year, to provides us with solid performances at their weight classes. These guys were both 20-plus match winners and played large roles for us last year, and we are going to need them to do at least the same if not more for us this season to attain the goals that we have set for our team. Both Nick and Kyle have also done a great job in preparation for the season, and we are excited about this season with them."

"We have two juniors in the lower weights in [juniors] Tyler Giovanetti [106] and Patrick Jacoby [113] that have been varsity performers for the last two seasons," said Watson. "Again, for us to be as successful as we are capable of being and attaining the goals that we have set for us as a team, we are going to really need a substantial increase in production from both Tyler and Patrick. Both guys made big jumps last year, and we are looking for and going to depend on them doing the same for us this year as well."

"Each successful year we go through, we come to the point in the season where we get a substantial contribution from someone who was not consistently in the lineup last season and emerges as a solid performer for us," Watson noted. "Wrestlers like [sophomore] Julian Bangash [126], [junior] Roger Toral [126], [junior] Robby Tarvin [152], [junior] Rob Rigoglioso [160], [junior] Aaron Del Vecchio [195] and [junior] Raymond Uzoaru [heavyweight] have all worked hard to improve their wrestling skills and may end up filling some of those roles for us this year. As a staff, we are excited about this group of kids and are anxious to see who pans out as major contributors of that group as well. Wrestlers like [sophomore] Owen McElroy [152], [sophomore] Matt Binstock [152] and [senior] Tyler Muslija [152] have an outside chance of contributing as well."

"This season, we are focused on being better than we were last year, and considering that last year was the best year in RHS wrestling history, that is a tough feat," Watson conceded. "Our consistent goal is to win each match and tournament that we are entered in. Last season, we won the Mt. Olive Tournament and District 6 Tournament. This season, our goal is to add the BCCA Group 4 championship and state-sectional championship to that list as well."

"Year after year, one of our team goals is to qualify for the team state tournament, which is a tough feat in itself given the structure of this tournament for the sport of wrestling. These seniors have done this two out of the last three years. Our section is not only tough, but the teams that were in contention for the title last year [North Bergen, Clifton, Morris Knolls and Hackensack, which was the sectional champion] are very similar to us in that they come back with strong experienced teams and are also somewhat senior-led."

"This poses quite a challenge for us," Watson said. "Yet, this senior class seems up for the challenge, and they want very badly not only to be great, but to be known as the best wrestling team in RHS history. It is exciting as a staff to have a group with this mixture of aspiration, experience and desire. I can tell you this, we are going to work very hard each day at attaining our team’s goals, and we are going to intensely prepare for each team to give us their very best each time they come out to face us. It is quite exciting and should be fun to watch."

Watson’s assistant coaches are Mike Rooney, now in his fifth season, Joe Gyulay (3rd season) and 2008 Ridgewood graduate Nikola Mirkovic, who wrestled for Watson and won the District 6 title at 215 pounds his senior year.

"Nikola is doing some medical studies in the area, and we are really excited to have him back in our program," Watson said.